Tree of Life
by 4fireking
Summary: Andrew is a boy who likes magic and fairy tale's. He impresses everyone with his skills, but he only has one real friend. Even so he has no idea what he's going to do in his future. That is until he is sucked into the world of MAR. A world with magic, monsters, witches, princesses, and magical item's called ARM's. What adventures are to unfold for Andrew there? Please read.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: **I'm only going to say this once. I don't own Marchen Awaken Romance, or MAR. Please review. **

" Pick a card. Any card. Don't show or tell me what it is otherwise there would be no point in me telling you." A burly blonde-haired boy picks up a card and gives it back.

" Hey, aren't you going to tell me what it is?"

" Just a moment." The boy starts coughing. He hit his chest and a small card pops out. " There. Is that your card?"

"Y-Yes."

" Good."

" Amazing."

" How does he do that?"

" Hey Andrew, how did you do that?"

" A magician never reveals his secrets. It's one of the main law of being great like me."

" Pffffft! As if. What's his next act; robbing a bank?

" I would never use my skills to commit arson." The blonde-haired boy tried to move, but chains were wrapped around his left hand. He was pulled to the ground. " I will however use them to exhibit laughter. A round of applause if you please."

" Hahahaha!"

" Thank you. Thank you. If you'll need me, I'll be thinking of my next trick for tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Andrew is reading a book of Fairy Tale's in his classroom. A female student approaches him. Her hair was jet-black and she had a lavender ribbon in her hair.

" What are you reading, Andrew?"

" Peter Pan, m'lady. Could you imagine what life would be like if we were to grow up, Yushiyami?"

" No. I'm too busy thinking of what life is like now. Hey Andrew, do you want to have lunch together?"

" Eh, sure."

" Andrew gets up, follows Yushiyami to her desk, and turns a chair around as he sits on it."

" Would you like to eat something of mine?"

" I don't know. The last food you made me gave me food poisoning."

" Come on." Yushiyami gave Andrew her strongest puppy-dog face. Her eyes looked bigger. " Please."

" Ugh. How can I say no to you?" Yushiyami takes out a fork, Andrew openes his mouth up wide, and Yushiyami moves the food into his mouth. Andrew chews on the food with a smile thinking it will taste good, but his mouth starts to puff up like a frog indicating it tastes bad. " Blah! It's too salty!"

" Oh, I thought it was sugar. But I guess I must have added the wrong ingredients. My bad. So what magic trick do you have for us tomorrow, Andrew?"

" I don't know. I don't think magic is really meant for me."

" But your so good at it."

" I guess. But I don't feel the vibe to do it anymore. It's all the same thing. Tricks, illusions, mind teasers. What's the point of it all? I had a dream last night."

" Really? What type of dream? Was I in it."

" Of course not. The girl in my dream was way hotter and way sexier than you."

" You don't have to be mean. What was it like?"

" Like all my other dreams. I'm the hero and I need to save this world called MÄR from a grave threat. Two days ago I was at a pretty awesome world. Everyone can use magic, there's kingdoms, and the animals there can talk."

" Can the flowers talk as well?"

" No. Not the flowers. But the trees can talk and so can the rocks. It's the greatest place in the world."

Above Andrew's head he saw a group of boys staring down at him. The sight of them made him nervous.

" Andrew, when are you going to grow up? Your already in ninth grade. Do you even care about your future?"

" Future...?" Andrew looks at his desk and sighs. " The morality is what kind of future does someone like me have?"


	3. Chapter 3

Andrew was sitting in his house at the dining room table thinking about his next magic tricks, he had a pencil and a pen in hand*

" Hmm. Thinking of new tricks sure is hard. I wonder if there's a magic trick that allows you to think you have multiple copies of yourself. That would be so cool."

Door to the house is open, Andrew's mother walks in wearing a brown suit and a black suitcase. She is exhausted and wipes her head from how tired she is.

" Real estate is troublesome. What are with couple anyways? That house was one million dollars and with market value it dropped down to two hundred thousand dollars. Why do they think it can get any lower."

Andrew's mother noticed her son sitting by a table and drawing. The sight of him drawing made her angry. She refrained herself by closing her eyes and sighed.

" You know I got a call from your principal at school today."

" Oh really," Andrew said not paying attention to her and drawing. "What did the principal say?"

" That you handcuffed a poor boy. How many times have I told you not to bring your magic stuff to school?"

" I can't help it. I worked hard doing chores for that magic stuff. Why can't I bring them to school?"

" Well you weren't the one who paid for the those stupid magic stuff! I was! And I had to work so hard just to get them for you. Do you know how much work I have to do to feed you and all you ever do is yell at me! Maybe I should've never had you at all!"

" Oh yeah! Well maybe I'll just run away! How do you like that?"

" When are you ever going to grow up?"

XXX

The rest of the day Andrew lay in silence in his bed. He just stared at the ceiling with his hands behind his head and wiggled his legs thinking about where his life was heading.

" I feel like Peter Pan. I don't ever want to grow up. I want to stay young. If only...if only there was somewhere I could go to. Somewhere where I could be free. If only...if only I could live inside my dreams..."

Andrew finally closed his eyes and finally fell asleep. As he slept a giant dark hand grew out beside the right side of his bed. The hand was raised above Andrew's body, and then it smacked right over him!

XXX

When Andrew woke up he was sitting in a field rolling grass with his fingers. His head was resting up against a giant tree. Andrew couldn't stop blinking his eyes as he kept staring at the sky. That's when he started pinching his arms.*

" Ow!"

It appeared to Andrew that he wasn't dreaming. He even sniffed the air. It felt so fresh unlike the city smog where he lived. Andrew was so excited by the smoke he started running through the grassy field. And he kept running thinking of how sweet smelling the air was. Without even knowing it he ran so fast his legs were starting to swell up.*

" You there, halt."

Andrew stopped running, nearly falling on the ground raising one foot up, but managed to stand up. He looked around to where the voice was coming from but he saw nothing there*

" Come here. Come here little man."

" What?"

" Come here. Come here. Come here."


	4. Chapter 4

What would you do if you heard a voice coming from someone you've never met? You would probably run away from it. You'd hold your hands over your ears and scream fearful like a ghost was coming for you. If you were with someone else you would turn to them and ask them what you think they should do. Andrew agreed with one of those ideas. But he was going to follow the sound. He took ten steps forward and the whole land turned to snow. The tree branches were concealed in white snow. The branches periphery grew snowballs instead of leaves, the ground was wreathed in white snow, even the rocks were garnished with snow so bright it sparkled like diamonds.

Andrew had many wondrous and ponderous dreams in his life. One of his dreams was being a prince trying to rescue a princess from the highest tower of an island surrounded by lake and cactus's. There was this other dream where he went to a cloud realm. All the clouds were pink and colorful. The kingdom was made of the greyest metals Andrew ever saw. And the guards were green-winged men with talons protruding from their feet and eyes of falcons. Andrew's last dream was where he was in a field of corn and following a stray dog. He didn't know why he kept chasing that dog, he just did. Every minute he chased the dog it just got bigger and bigger.

Andrew found an entrance to a cave. The door was an open door surrounded by dark blue rock. Inserted inside the blue rocks were white stone. Andrew shivered at the base of the entrance. Something was lurking inside the cave. Something big and sinister.

" Come to me. Come to me."

The voice kept echoing out of the cave. It was so loud and scary it sent bone numbing chills down Andrew's spine. The only thing that didn't scare Andrew was the thought that this was all his dream. Andrew walked into the cave and saw a rune on the ceiling. The rune looked like a question mark, but it was upside down and there were two dots in the circle. It was not Andrew's intent to look at pictures, but he did find this picture very fascinating.

" Come to me. Come to me."

Andrew followed the sound to a crack in the wall. He got stuck halfway in the crack. Andrew wavers and pushes as hard as he can; he manages to slip through the crack.**  
**Andrew started to laugh uproariously. It was the most realistic dream he had so far. Some think people are stupid for believing the things that go on in your dreams, that when you wake up covered in sweat and breathing so hard your hands turn to sweat that you're an idiot.

" Awesome," he said. " Just awesome."

Andrew walked through another crack in the wall. Everything became wavy and blurry. Andrew couldn't stand up straight. He winced and grabbed the closest rock he could find to help him balance. Andrew walked as slow and tussled through the wall. At last he reached a door colored blue. At least at trillion small dots were aligned above the door. Each dot had a number on it. Andrew reached his hand out and pushed the door open.

Andrew expected to find gold, diamonds, even a mythological beast behind those doors–nothing like a red glove. Just a glove floating over padded rock. Andrew reached his hands to the glove and rubbed his hands under it. Andrew thought that some kind of magnets or wires were holding this glove up. It was just floating up with no tricks. There was only one thing Andrew could think of.

" _Magic?"_

" Come to me. Come to me."


	5. Chapter 5

Andrew didn't know why he was hearing those strange voices. His beautiful dream was starting to become a creepy nightmare. He was dubious about the glove. Should he wear it? Should he burn it? Should he rip it apart? So many ideas reached Andrew's head. What strange magic covet the glove? Atlas Andrew finally got restless with the waiting and grabbed the glove from the padded rock...

Nothing.

Andrew was holding the glove in both his hands. Nothing bad happened to him. If it really was put under some kind of spell maybe it lifted after a prolong effect. Before Andrew could react, the floor of the cave collapsed downwards; the floor was really a giant trap door. Andrew fell down a chute. He slid through a tunnel and fell into an abyss.

XXX

Andrew panicked. He struggled to get up, he rolled around in something warm. Andrew opened his eyes, he was laying in his bed in his room. Andrew didn't know he was sleeping; he knew the whole world there wasn't real, but he thought he was taking there like Peter Pan. Andrew sighed.

" _I hoped for a better ending," _he thought and drifted back into sleep.

XXX

Andrew had reached his adolescent. He no longer needed to be accompanied by an adult everywhere he went and no longer needed her help getting back home. After school, which he used to dazzle all his classmates which was spectacle because he did it all for free, than he went straight to the library. Andrew liked reading. Sometimes he would read a small fantasy book with the twins. The twins were two red-haired and freckled kids who looked completely identical. There was no way to tell them apart; a mother couldn't even tell them apart unless the twins told them their names. Andrew rested his left cheek against his left fist and read his big blue book.

A tall woman with long lavender hair and grey skin moved towards Andrew. She wore a black dress with a triangular hole showing her cleavage, and a net covering that cleavage. Her eyes were light pink and her lips were violet. She walked up to Andrew and touched his shoulders, which made him freak.

" How is my favorite nephew doing?"

" Huh?" Andrew couldn't believe his eyes. She was really there. Andrew thought she was overseas but she was really here. Andrew raised his arms and hugged the woman. " Aunt Adena."

" Surprised, kiddo. I was in town in business and I thought I would look at my favorite nephew. Your mother said I would find you here." Adena's eyes narrowed to Andrew's pockets. " So what's new with you?"

" I'm better at magic. It's very important to me."

" Really? Last time ant collecting was very important to you."

" I was six that time, Aunt Adena. But I really love magic. It's very important to me"

" Glad to see you live something. As I always say, it's important to pick a job you love. If you don't love your work...you won't be any good at it. Would you like some ice cream?"

" Yes, Adena. I'd love ice cream."

" That's good. I know the perfect place that sells ice cream. _Sometimes a weakling has to die for the strong to prosper." _


	6. Chapter 6

Near Shopper's Drug Mart there was an ice cream stand. It was run by a thirty year old woman and her two children. They made the best milkshakes. But the children grew up and the woman had to hire real workers for her ice cream shop. Andrew use to come here with his friends after his little league games. Aunt Adena ordered one vanilla milkshake, not ordering anything for herself, and gave the milkshake to Andrew.

" So what's my little sister been up too?" Adena asked. Andrew was slurping on his milkshake and not paying much attention to his aunt. " Has she been going on dates with anyone? Maybe a cute younger subordinate?"

" Mom's busy," Andrew replied slurping on his milkshake. " She's always busy. All she does when she gets home is take a shower, change her clothes, and watch her silly soap operas. She doesn't even make me dinner anymore. I've been eating ramen soup for three days."

" It must be hard to eat the same thing everyday. It's not what you want is it? What do you really want, Andrew?"

" I want to use my magic to..."

" That's something you do everyday. I asked you what you want to happen."

" I want to go jet skiing or go to the Penguin's game."

" You can do those things whenever you want. I'm talking about something you want to do no one else thinks your capable of. What do you want to do?"

" I guess I want to live inside a fairy tale."

" That's more like it. I offered your mother all the money she would need if she worked for me, but she has too much pride. But do you see why it might be a good thing that she doesn't pay you as much attention as she used too?"

" I don't really think about it."

" It's because she's trying to get you ready for risks, Andrew. Do you know how to cook for yourself, Andrew. You must have taken a few cooking lessons when you are at this age. You can use something as simple as a microwave to cook your food for you. She leaves you spaghetti sauce, noodles, and even meat. All you have to do is press 'reheat' and everything is made for you. If a stranger walked up to your door do you know how to call 911? Or are you so much of a master you can even use something like a stove."

" I do take those risks, Aunt Adena."

" Good boy. I need you to do a big boy job with lots of risks. Nothing too challenging-I just want you to find something for me. You see I left something at your home. It's important that I get it back. I can't find it, but you can, kiddo."

" What did you drop?"

" My gloves. I dropped my precious glove in your home. I would ask your mother for it back, but I don't want to be a bother to her. Obtain it for me, Andrew."

" What colour was the glove?"

" Uh, it was orange. Obtain it for me, Andrew. Obtain it."

"_ Orange glove? That's the same colour as the glove in my dream."_

" I ask you pretty please with sugar on top-get me back my glove and give it to me. As your aunt you will do it without question and without arguing. Have I made myself clear?"

" Yes, Aunt Adena, I'll get your glove back."

" Good boy." His aunt rubbed Andrew's hair. The way she smiled frightened him. The way she talked about orange gloves after he had his dream was a little too pragmatic. " I want it back today. I'll stop by to pick it up at seven."

Andrew went back to drinking his milkshake. However, his conversation with Aunt Adena was so long it already melted and was completely gross. " Aunt Adena." Adena took the milkshake away from Andrew. " Here." Adena walked to the trash and threw it away. " Let auntie Adena buy you another one."

XXX

At six' forty-five Andrew ripped through most of his home. He pulled out the couch cushions, pulled everyone out of the drawers, threw every piece of cloth out of the laundry room, even flipped his bed looking for the glove. Andrew was lucky his mother was working until eight or she would have hysteria over how messy her once pristine home was.

Andrew panicked. Andrew picked when he picked the couch cushion up, laid it against the wall, and punched it rapidly. Andrew punched that mattress so hard it invigorate him. When he was finished he picked it up and threw it back on the bed spot. Andrew was so tired, annoyed, frustrated. It was just one little mouse, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Andrew walked up to his desk and clutched his magic book. Andrew hit the book against the mattress once. Twice. Three times he hit the book against the mattress. Something slipped out of the book. It was small and orange and fit over a mans' hand. It was the glove!

Andrew had what Aunt Adena wanted. He could give it to her and she would be happy. But he however didn't understand one thing. If Aunt Adena said she dropped it how could it be in his magic book?


	7. Chapter 7

" Andrew." Aunt Adena entered through the front door, wearing a black dress covered by a black coat. Aunt Adena looked so beautiful even when her long strands of black hair covered her eyes and she dressed completely black; it was like he was the nephew to a supermodel and horror writer at the same time. " I hope you don't mind that I didn't knock, but being your aunt I should have the privilege of coming in after making an appointment."

Something didn't feel right in Andrew's brain. He was feeling sick and moody when he thought about Aunt Adena and the glove; why was this glove in his dream and the day after that Aunt Adena wanted it for herself? This was stretching beyond one of his fairy tale books. This was beginning to sound like a horror movie.

" You found it!" Aunt Adena shouted excitedly when she saw Andrew holding the glove. " Thatta boy. Now, give your sweet Aunt Adena the glove."

" Just you wait, Aunt Adena." Andrew was being difficult. He didn't just hand over the glove like Aunt Adena asked him to do. What he did instead was move the glove away from her. " I am not giving you the glove until you can prove it belongs to you."

" What other proof do you need?" Aunt Adena tried changing her voice to sound very sweet and innocent. " I am your Aunt and I am asking you for that glove. That's proof enough how it belongs to me."

Andrew didn't believe her...she was lying to him. He wanted to run up the stairs and throw the glove out of the window, but he couldn't have his feet. It was like his feet were glued to the ground and wouldn't move.

" W-Why..." Andrew couldn't feel his face or his teeth. They were both frozen much like his body. Better yet they were paralyzed like a spider came down and bit his neck.

" Sweetie, I am your aunt who wants nothing more than to see your favorite nephew safe from all the bad people out there." It must have been in Andrew's mind...his aunts shoulder's grew bigger, and she was taller since something happened to her feet. " I will treasure those gloves more than anyone else. I can fix them if they break..." Andrew's aunt no longer had two legs, but now six. This thing, that wasn't his Aunt Adena, made it's way towards Andrew. It had bronze tusks in its mouth and eyes so red and scary the ghouls would scream. Andrew didn't know what to think...he panicked, two Aunt Adena's were standing before him...one was a spider and the other human. " Won't you please give it to me, Andrew?"

" A-Aunt Adena?"

" I am your aunt," the human spoke. " She isn't. If you don't listen to me and give her what I want...she will suck your blood. If only you would've just given me the ÄRM."


	8. Chapter 8

The spider opened and closed its bony mouth. Green saliva came out of the spider's mouth and covered its teeth. Andrew was scared. He was staring at the most terrifying looking spider he had ever saw...and it was his aunt―Aunt Adena who always took care of him when his mother couldn't and spoiled him like a prince―controlling this terrifying bone spider.

No matter how terrified or how confused Andrew was the only thing that made sense was how important this glove was to them. Ergo, he wasn't giving the glove to his aunt or her freaky spider. Suddenly, Andrew felt a strong wind blow against his back and two hands touching his shoulders. He turned...his teeth chattering and his face frozen in fear...he saw a white faced red eyed clown with a star on his left eye and a green cross on the next eye. The clown's body was a door and it opened.

" You have been called to MÄR by my user," the clown said with a straight and cold voice. It chilled Andrew to the bone to hear it. " You will be dropped at a random location in the farm yard. When you return you will come to this location."

" No!" The voice of Andrew's Aunt Adena screeched when she saw the clown. " He can't go to MÄR now. He hasn't given me the ÄRM!"

Andrew didn't know what an ÄRM was but he deduced that it had something to do with his glove. Andrew didn't want to give this glove to his aunt or go with this talking clown door. Neither of them were trustworthy or looked friendly (even the clown looked scary). Andrew was at different odds of who to listen too because there was nowhere for him to run, and then he was pulled into the door by the clown.

Andrew couldn't see anything in the clown door except the silhouette of his aunt. She yelled Andrew's name again and again. He heard his name being yelled twice and Andrew was being threatened both times. It was hard to hear what she said while he was falling, but it sounded like a promise...a promise she would find him, take his glove, and let her spider eat him.

Andrew counted to two hundred while he was falling and then he stopped. No longer could he see his Aunt Adena or hear her threats in his head. Why did Aunt Adena have a spider for her legs? It didn't make any sense and Andrew told himself repeatedly how who he saw whoever they were wasn't his Aunt Adena. He remembered wrapping presents at her house, going to the petting zoos, and sharing her ice cream cone with him (which he also took very big bites of). When Andrew's mother had so much work to do and never had time for him his Aunt Adena was always there for him.

Andrew could feel his mind going blank. The room started to get darker and darker until the only thing left was room of darkness and swirly shapes in the background. However, one light shinned through the darkness and blinded Andrew. While blind he saw an image. It was him and his Aunt Adena. He knew it was because he was trying to remember happy memories of her and he didn't care. This was the happiest memory of them all. It showed Aunt Adena holding Andrew in a park while Andrew smiled back at the camera with a peace sign. the sun rays were absolutely beautiful on that day. The most beautiful image ever taken and Andrew as a young magician wanted to share that image with everyone.

XXX

Andrew recovered from his blindness feeling dizzy and...really good. He felt empowered and strong like when you're running down a hill and adrenaline is pumping through your head. The back of his head felt hard like a rock. Ironically there was a rock in the mud he was lying down on.

It took Andrew's eyes a moment to adjust and when they did he saw two people: a young boy and an older man whom could be his father. He boy was Andrew's height was short black hair, yellow shirt with brown shorts and a hat with a blue feather on it that looked like Robin Hood and Peter Pan in the classic Disney movies. He wasn't any of them because he had a pipe strapped to a belt around his waist. His father was a whole inch taller and very round. His big belly with his green shirt stuck out of his blue pants. He had a brown jacket over his green shirt. He carried a walking stick. What surprised Andrew was wearing his socks for his shoes.

" Dad...this boy needs our help," said the boy with the feather in his hat.

" It's too late to take him to a doctor, Bret," said the boy's father. " We'll have to take him home before they can get to him."

The little boy whose name was Bret nodded and walked along the road. With one hand Bret's father picked Andrew up and carried him. Ian stared down at Bret and his father. They looked nervous...scared really. Some semantics were making them scared. Andrew didn't know what things would try to get him, but they didn't sound good.


End file.
